Vacuum cleaning-tool.



F. w. VAN NEss. TAOUUM CLEANING TOOL. APPLIOATION I'ILEDMAY 2, 1910.

Patented Feb. 18,1913.

Inventor.' U few Q/w Witnesses.'

` 1&6/

www.

rttorrge'y.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.N

FRANK W. VAN NESS, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR T0 FRANK J.

MATCHETTE, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

VACUUM CLEANINGTTOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent. n Patented Feb; 18, 191 3.

Application led May 2, 1910. Serial No. 558,814.

. accompanying drawing,l forming a part thereof.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of vacuum cleaning tools which are intended for use in sweeping, orcleaning, uncarpeted oors of wood, tiles, etc.,

or other hard surfaces.

The great objection to many of the hard surface sweepers in use at the present time is that they sweepv the dirt before them, piling it up in a ridge or pile in front of the tool, and, eventually, the ytool will ride up on to and over the ridge of dirt and scrape the dirt into and over the surface or Hoor, thereby scratching and marringthe surface besides injuring the tool. Many hard surface or bare floor sweepers have their floor contacting surface made of felt or some soft polishing material, and the dirt, especially sharp grains of sand, will become embedded in such materlal yand will convert the tool into a scratching implement which will act as though its floor contacting surface were covered with sandaper. Moreover, many ofthe hard surace sweepers in use at the present time leave a ridge or pile of dirt in front of them at the completion of the sweeping stroke which can only be removed by turning the tool and making a sweeping stroke at right angles to the former direction of movement of the tool or by using a different kind of too Theobjects of this .invention are to construct hard surface or bare floor sweepers, of the" type which have a .rubbingor bearing surface, or surfaces, which rests directly upon a floor, so that they will not push the dirt infront of them in a ridge' or pile, but will move the dirt laterally with respect to the direction of motion of the tools j and thereby sweepthe dirt into windrows in line with air passages in the tools so that the dirtpwill be carried into the tools ,by the air rushing into and through said air passages, and genegally Vto improve the details of construction of such tools in the manner to be more specifically described hereafter. v

The principal object of this invention is realized by providing the floor contacting surfaces of bare Hoor sweepers with a plurality of V-shaped grooves which have their wide parts located at the sweeping sides` of the tools and which have air passages at their lvertices. Preferably these V-shaped grooves are separated from adjacent grooves by triangular-shaped polishing members provided with substantially sharp apexes on the sweeping sides of the tools. sides of the V-shaped grooves are preferably substantially perpendicular to the sweeping faces of the tools so as to have no tendency yto roll the dirt under the polishing faces of the tools. V

Referring to the drawings which accompany this specification and for a part there of, on which drawings the same reference characters are used to designate the same elements wherever they may appear in each of the several views, and whichdrawings illustrate an embodiment of this invention, Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a tool; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the tool and handle taken on the line awa, Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and Fig. 3 is an elevation of a part of the tool. l

Referring specifically to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates a plate to which a hollow socket member 2 is pivotally secured, so that said socket member 2 can be swung up and down with respect to plate 1. In the specific structure shown by the drawings, a retaining member 3 is secured to plate 1 and this retaining member has downwardly projecting and inturned edges or flanges 4 and 5, fora purpose to be hereinafter described. The retaining member 3 has secured thereto other retaining members 6, G, which are provided with downwardly extending and outwardly bent edges or fianges 7 and 8, so as to form wedge-shaped spaces between the flanges 4 and 8 and 5 and 7 The numerals 9 and 10 respectively, designate two removable members, which may be made of wood or any preferred material, with upwardly and outwardly flaring edges which are adapted to be received within flanges 5 and 7 and l4 and 8 yrespectively and are securely but removably held `to the re- The rfi,

tainingy members 3 and 6 by the flared flanges thereof, as is clearly shown by Fig. 2 ofthe drawings. l

lt is preferred to secure triangular-shaped pieces of felt, or other polishing material, designated by the common reference numeral 11, to the underside of removable members 9 and 10 to form V-shaped grooves :p5/won the floor contacting face of the'. tool,

and these triangular-shaped members 11 are not in contact at their bases, but are separated slightly so as to provide air passages 12, which are in communication with a slot 13 extending nearly the length of the tool. The slot 13 is in communication by means of an aperture 14 inthe retaining member 3 with a slot 15 in the plate 1, whereby free communication is established between the The longitudinal slot 13 is forme-d by the fianges 7 and 8.and by the bases or inner ends ot' the triangular-shaped pieces 11 which do not extend inwardly beyond the edges of the sweeping members 9 and 10 t0 which they are secured.A ln order to partially close the ends of slot 13'one end of member 9 and oneend of member 10 projects across't-he full width of the slot and terminates in a straight edge parallel with the `farther extremity of the slot, as shown by the lines designated by the reference character 21 and the reference'character 22.

The end'vv members corresponding to the triangular-shaped membersill on one end ofv members 9 and 10 are shaped like right angle triangles, as clearly shown by Fi 1 of the draw1ngs,and thesev members are designated by the reference characters 23 and 24 respectively. The triangular members corresponding to triangular members 11 on the opposite endsof members 9 and 10 are constructed `of a generally triangular outline, but with an additional triangular part added to the pieces of the triangles so that air passages 25 and 26, (of substantially the same size as air passages 12) and V-shaped grooves It are provided at the ends of slot 13 by the co-action of small triangular pieces 27- and 28, as will be readily understood from an inspection oFig. .1 of the drawings. It will be readily seen from an inspection of the dra-wings that by lifting pins 17 and tool.

aoeaees 18 the removable members 10 and 9 can .be slid endwise and removed from the retaining members 3 and 6 bysliding member 9 to the left and member V10 to the rightv (looking at Fig. 1 of the drawings).

' The function and operation of the. tool is as follows: When the tool is moved either forward or backward over the floor, the dust and dirt are sweptA sidewise, with respect to the' direction of motion of the tool, bythe triangular-shaped members 11 and is piled up into windrows opposite air passages 12 and the air flowing in through air passages 12 takes all the dust and dirt with it. Moreover, the action of the tool disclosed by the drawings and described in this specification is to move the dust away from the path of movement of the felt or polishing members 11, 23, 24,. 27 and 28, so that these felt members pass over a cleaned surface and serve ,to polish that surface, and the air entering the V-shaped grooves h and airpassages 25 and 26 at the ends of the tool carries with it-the dust and dirt for.

some little distance from the ends ofthe la at is claimed is: y l

1'. The combination, in a vacuum cleaning tool, of a plate, having a slot for the outward passage of dust-.laden air, and members secured to the bottom of the plate and separated to form an elongated slot-in communication with the slot in the plate, theV floor-contacting parts of said members being composed of a plurality of triangularshaped members separated from each other to form V-shaped grooves which are in open communication attheir apexes withl said elongated slot. 1

2. The combination, in a vacuum cleaning tool, of a plate, having a vslot for the outward passage of dust-laden air, provided with downwardly projecting and mwardly and outwardly turned flanges,'and removable members slidably engaged with and held by said flanges, the Hoor-contacting parts of said members comprisinga pluralit of triangular-shaped members separate from each other and forming therebetween a plurality of V-shaped grooves which are in open communication at their apexes with van elongated slot formed be,-

tween the bases of said triangular-shapedl`V members. l

' 3. The combination, in a vacuum cleaning tool, of aplate, having a slot for the, outwardypassage of dust-laden air, rovided with downwardly projecting and inwardly and outwardly turned ang'es, vand removable members slidably engaged with and held by said ianges and separated from eachother but provided at opposite ends with parts which-project toward and terminate at vthe other removable member.

'4. The combination, in a vacuum cleaning itsl leo tool, of a plate, having a slot for the outl and separated from each other to form an ward passage of dust-laden air, retaining members provided with downwardly pro jecting and inwardly and outwardly turned flanges, removable members, separated from y each other except at their ends, slidubly enga-ged with and held by said flanges, means for locking seid plate and said removable members together, and a plurelity of triangular-shaped members secured to the bottoms of said removable members elongated slot between their bases and a pluralitv of V-shaped grooves which are in open communication at their apexes with 16 said elongated slot.

In witness whereof I hereto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' FRANK W. VAN NESS. Witnesses:

CHAs. L. Goss, FRANK E. DENNETT. 

